Couple claim human rights breach over Wied iz-Zurrieq mooring

A married couple yesterday filed a constitutional application in the Civil Court claiming that their fundamental human rights had been violated by the Malta Maritime Authority which was refusing to grant them a permit for a mooring in Wied iz-Zurrieq.

Joseph and Marianne Bellizzi claimed in their application that they owned a pleasure boat they used on a full-time basis at Wied iz-Zurrieq, and that Joseph Bellizzi had worked as a boatman in the same locality since 1981.

In the course of a court case involving the husband's grandfather, an agreement had been reached to the effect that a mooring at Zurrieq had to remain in common between the couple and the husband's cousin.

This agreement was reached some years ago and a quasi-contract had been formulated between the parties.

As a result, Joseph Bellizzi and his cousin Salvatore Bellizzi shared the mooring, as two boats could be accommodated there.

In 1991, when the authority was established, none of the Wied iz-Zurrieq boatmen had applied for a permit from the authority, and to date the majority of the boatmen were not recognised, but still made use of their moorings freely.

In June 1995, Salvatore Bellizzi, a part-time boatman, had applied to the authority for a permit to secure his boat on the mooring used by him and his cousin.

The authority had issued Salvatore Bellizzi with a permit on the day after the application was filed.

In July 1995, Joseph Bellizzi had applied for a permit to also secure his boat on the same mooring used by Salvatore Bellizzi.

But his application was dismissed by the authority on the grounds that the mooring had been exclusively granted to Salvatore Bellizzi.

The Bellizzi couple said they had filed a writ of summons in the Civil Court, requesting a declaration that they were entitled to secure their boat on their mooring at Wied iz-Zurrieq, and that the authority was bound to issue them with a permit.

But their writ was dismissed by the Civil Court and the judgment confirmed by the Court of Appeal in June 2001.

This meant they had exhausted the ordinary remedies at their disposal and could now file a constitutional application.

The Bellizzis declared they had been deprived of an effective remedy by the courts and added that the courts had ignored the decision given in an earlier judgment involving Joseph Bellizzi's grandfather.

They further claimed that their rights to enjoyment of their property, consisting of their boat, was being violated, for the authority was taking action against them to remove their boat from its mooring.

The Bellizzis added that the authority had failed to give them a fair hearing when they had applied for a permit and when it had issued a permit to Salvatore Bellizzi in respect of the mooring, for they had not been heard nor informed of his application.

The Bellizzis yesterday added that their fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination had been violated, for the authority had not taken any action against any of the other boatmen at Wied iz-Zurrieq.

All the other boatmen had been allowed to make use of the moorings they had inherited from their families without any interference from the authority.

The Bellizzis concluded their application by requesting the court to provide them with a remedy and to declare that their fundamental human rights had been violated.

The court was also requested to declare that the permit issued in favour of Salvatore Bellizzi was abusive and illegal and that the June 2001 judgment of the Court of Appeal was in violation of their rights.

Dr Tonio Azzopardi signed the application.